San Diego’s consistent warm weather and coastal setting translate to a plethora of outdoor group options, taking advantage of 70 miles of beaches and an array of parks and gardens. The city’s rich cultural tapestry, including museums and a robust theater scene, also brings with it a vast selection of unique indoor venues. Here are 10 great options for groups.
Downtown/Old Town
This year, Balboa Park is celebrating its 100th anniversary. The yearlong centennial festival will highlight the region’s history with regards to art, commerce, culture and technology.
“Balboa Park, with its 14 different museums, is one of the best secrets we have,” says Margie Sitton, senior vice president of sales and services for the San Diego Tourism Authority.
One of Balboa Park’s new developments in time for the centennial is the renovation and reopening of the California Building’s (www.museumofman.org/california-building) iconic tower. The building, which houses the Museum of Man, is one of the original buildings from the 1915 Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park. Since January, visitors have been able to head to the top and enjoy the views for the first time since 1935.
Groups can host receptions in the Grand Rotunda or in the Spanish-style outdoor courtyard. Another option is the century-old St. Francis Chapel, with seating for 88 on the main floor and 12 in the balcony. The building’s Evernham Hall can host dinners or receptions, while its Irving J. Gill Auditorium caters to meetings, presentations and lectures.
Also Downtown, the USS Midway Museum, a retired aircraft carrier located on San Diego Bay, stands as one of the city’s most popular off-site venues, hosting 300 corporate events a year.
In January, the USS Midway Museum opened a new 90-seat theater, Battle of Midway Theater, featuring a holographic film and special effects. The theater is the centerpiece of a Battle of Midway exhibit featuring historic aircraft from the conflict. The venue can host meetings when not open to the public.
“The 14-minute inspirational film, Voices at Midway, in the theater, will fit well with corporate events aboard Midway that have a teamwork, perseverance or overcoming-all-odds theme,” says Pat Pfohl, Midway sales sirector.
For groups of up to 2,500, Petco Park, the San Diego Padres baseball stadium, offers a variety of venues for groups, including the playing field, Lexus Home Plate Restaurant, hosting up to 135, Lexus Home Plate Lounge, accommodating 115, or the Palm Court Plaza, hosting 375.
For a true taste of San Diego’s downtown and Old Town, San Diego Beer and Wine Tours (www.lajollawinetours.com) offers a variety of options, including its Brewery Trolley Tour, which visits downtown and Gaslamp District breweries and takes in the culture and history of Old Town as well.
The company offers wine train tours by rail, walking tours to wineries and breweries and other customized programs for groups. There is even an option of an interactive tasting at a brewery, hotel or other venue.
“For our interactive tasting events, we will bring in our sommelier, winemaker or brew-masters, depending on the guest’s requirements,” says Shira Bliss, owner of the tour company. “We can set up pairing dinners or simply the tastings.”
La Jolla
La Jolla lures groups for it coastal setting and water-based adventures, but it also harbors an active cultural scene, including performing arts. At its heart lies the La Jolla Playhouse, founded in 1947 and currently presenting classics as well as new productions.
The playhouse offers several venues for groups with its multiple theaters, including the 492-seat Mandell Weiss Theatre, which has an upstairs deck for receptions.
PageBreak
The 400-seat Mandell Weiss Forum Theatre contains a rehearsal hall, two courtyards and an outdoor space for groups. Additionally, the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center for La Jolla Playhouse is a complex that includes three rehearsal spaces and the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre.
Mission Bay and Beaches
Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa, located in Mission Bay, runs two sternwheelers (www.sternwheelers.com) that offer space for groups: the Bahia Belle and the William D. Evans.
“We offer all different kinds of events on our boats, such as sit-down dinners, cocktail receptions, corporate meetings and presentations,” says Julia Geis, media relations manager for Evans Hotels. “Groups don’t need to stay at the hotel in order to book the boats.”
The larger of the two, the William D. Evans, was launched in 1986 as a tribute to the 19th century classic sternwheeler boats, including details such as handcrafted wooden masts, hand-carved mahogany doors and etched glass, as well as a 12-ton paddlewheel. The boat can accommodate up to 600.
For smaller gatherings of up to 190, the Victorian-style Bahia Belle paddlewheeler offers groups two interior decks as well as a topside observation deck.
North San Diego
About a half-hour north of downtown, the San Diego Botanic Garden, encompassing everything from a tropical rain forest to a South American desert garden, offers many unique areas for group functions.
One of the larger spaces is the Victorian Gazebo Lawn at the center of the gardens, which can host up to about 250 for a seated dinner. The Walled Garden, located within an adobe and tile wall, can host up to 180 for a reception and also offers space in the Larabee House, located within the garden area.
Another group option, the Waterfall View deck, as its name implies, overlooks a three-story waterfall amid a backdrop of palm trees and tropical vegetation. There is space for up to 30 seated at the deck. Cocktails for up to 150 can be arranged at the Lawn House Garden, replete with a tropical backdrop and a waterfall.
The Ecke Building and the Lawn House are available for meeting and event rental, as are the entire gardens.
South Bay
Though the South Bay is known for outdoor adventure, one of the most unique group off-site options is on an organic farm.
Suzie’s Farm, about 13 miles south of downtown San Diego, sprawls across 140 acres. Named after a Norwegian Elkhound dog who showed up on the property in 2004, the farm grows more than 100 varieties of seasonal vegetables, herbs, flowers and fruits and has farm dogs as well as 300 egg-laying hens.
For groups, Suzie’s offers a two-acre event space, the Grove, that can host receptions as well as farm-to-table dinners. There is space for up to 1,000.
East County
San Diego wineries lie in the fertile farmlands of North County as well as the more varied terrain of East County, namely a growing number of tasting rooms and wineries in the Ramona Valley American Viticultural Area at the San Diego foothills.
Salerno Winery, a small family-owned boutique winery, was started by former opera singer Herman Salerno and his wife Rose in the late 1990s. The vineyard includes tasting and dining areas, streams, waterfalls and floral pathways through a collection of 30 sculptures from more than 20 artists.
Groups can organize private tastings, as well as dinners, cocktail parties and vineyard tours. Entertainment can entail everything from a live opera performance to a meeting with the winemakers.
Receptions for up to 60 can be held in the opera house, sculpture garden or on the outdoor patio and deck.
Marlene Goldman a San Francisco-based freelance writer who heads south on occasion to take in San Diego’s museums, parks, sun, sand and spas.
